Kanda's Past
by Fire-Shark
Summary: Kanda, the solitary and rather grumpy Exorcist, has many secrets unknown to the rest of the Order. But when some of those secrets come back to haunt him, his secret past will be exposed.
1. Remembering What Should Be Forgotten

Well, this is an experiment on my part. I forget when and where I came up with this storyline exactly, but I needed a fanfiction idea, so this is what happened. I have no idea how good this will be, or even how it will turn out. Just for the record, this is not a yaoi. I know the potential is there, but this story is not intended to be one. Anyway, hope you enjoy and reviews are appreciated. I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

Kanda sighed as the rain began to fall. He had come out here to train, since the training area in the Order was too crowded. Kanda hated being around people.

There was a good reason for that, contrary to what the other Exorcists might believe. However, he was not about to share with anyone his reasons for being so grumpy and antisocial. He had even almost forgotten it himself.

No, that was a lie. He could never forget what had been the center of his life, especially since every day he lived as an Exorcist, when being an Exorcist had ruined his life in the first place. But he would still never tell anyone else about it.

As the rain came down harder, he debated between practicing some more or just going in. Finally, as he brooded about his secret past, he decided to stay out. Even though it was raining, often the only thing that would take his mind off of sad things was Mugen.

As he practiced, with the rain slicking his hair and his breath coming in even, paced gasps, he thought some more over his life before he had become an Exorcist. He knew he would just torment himself that way, but couldn't help it. Sometimes those things just needed to be contemplated before they could be released, and he had been putting off the contemplation of them for years now.

_I wonder how she's doing…_ He thought as a beautiful young woman's face flashed across his mind's eye. Then he shook his head sharply. He mustn't wonder how she was, or he would be tempted to go check on her, and that would only bring more pain and suffering to his life.

Finally he let his sword drop. It was useless to try to exhaust himself further. The best he could hope for was a dreamless sleep tonight. With a sigh, he turned and trooped back into the fortress that was the home of the Exorcists.

-----

The next morning, he was sitting cross-legged on his bed with a whetstone and a polishing cloth and oil, and was attending to his weekly ritual of maintaining Mugen. Just as he finished adding the last touches, there was a knock at the door. With an exasperated groan, he got up and answered it. It was Lenalee.

"Nii-san wants you in his office. I think he has a mission for you." She said.

"Fine," he responded curtly, and shut the door in her face. He heard her "humph!" in annoyance, and listened as her footsteps faded down the hall.

Another mission, finally. They distracted him from the life he had lost before, and it had been a while since his last private mission. It was about time he got away from people again.

After sheathing Mugen and strapping it on, he strode out the door and up to Komui's study.

When he reached the great door, he didn't even bother with knocking, just strode on in. If it had been locked, well, let's just say Komui would have needed to invest in a new door.

"So what'd you need me for?" He asked, flopping down on the half buried couch sitting before the large desk. There was a man sitting at the desk, though he was hidden behind the stacks of paper sitting on the surface of the desk. He shuffled some of those many papers around importantly before answering.

"I have a mission for you, actually. There have been some high levels of Akuma activity in Japan."

Kanda sat up with a start. Japan? He couldn't go back there, what if he ran into her? Komui, however, was not paying attention.

"I need you to go check it out, but keep your homicidal instincts under control please; we don't need any accidental deaths to occur and disrupt the society, now, do we?" He chuckled, thinking that Komui's sudden movement had been because of his eagerness to go kill some Akuma. "Just investigate, take care of the problem if there's one to take care of, and then come back. Should be a nice and short trip, and you can be back within a week or two."

Kanda nodded his understanding, took the file Komui handed him, and got up to leave.

"Oh, one more thing, Kanda," Komui said, sipping at his now cold coffee. "Take Allen with you, if you would, and give him some instruction about embarking on private missions. He needs to know sooner or later, wouldn't you say?"

Kanda's eyes went flat, and the knuckles on the hand that always gripped Mugen's hilt went white.

"Ah…if you wouldn't mind the company, that is, but it's your choice. All up to you. Now hurry, if you would, please, thank you." Komui hastily shooed the angry Kanda out of the room.

Once outside, Kanda allowed his temper to cool a bit. Why'd he have to take that damn Beansprout along? Just when he thought he might be able to relax and live a little bit that damn kid had to be thrown onto him. He wasn't a freakin' baby sitter, he was a warrior! He stalked down the hall, muttering curses at Allen under his breath.

-----

Sitting on the train to their destination, Kanda had to admit that Allen had improved much in the past few months. He now sat with the quiet alertness of a trained fighter, rather than being all-trusting and unsuspecting. Oh, he was still very trusting of his fellow man, but he at least was aware of what went on around him now.

Kanda smiled grimly. Beansprout had a long way to go, however. Kanda opened one of his closed eyes a crack. Allen was sitting quietly in the opposite seat, staring pensively out the window. Well, at least he wasn't talking, like that damn Lavi would undoubtedly be.

Kanda closed his eye again. Even without annoying carrot-head, it would still be a long trip.

-----

It was two days later when they reached Tokyo. The two young Exorcists stepped off of the train, blinking in the bright sunlight.

"Well, now what? Did Komui tell you what kind of "Akuma activity" we're looking for? Is there possibly an Innocence here?" Allen asked. Kanda shrugged.

"A bunch of people that have turned up missing or dead, I expect." He said in an acidic tone. Trust Allen to ask stupid questions. He suppressed a small smile of satisfaction as he saw Allen's nostrils flare in anger. It was always so much fun to make Beansprout mad.

"Quit standing around like an idiot, Beansprout, and let's go get this over with," he said impatiently, moving quickly into the crowd. Allen was forced to follow, lest he be left behind.


	2. The Unexpected Complication

Here's the second chapter. It may not be as good as the first, but whatever. There is a fairly gorry description in the middle a ways, however, so if you don't like that sort of thing you may want to skip it. The description begins after the sentence "the three people were a picture of a grotesque and painful death," and ends at the next page break (-----). We'll hopefully get some more action in the next chapter, but for now, enjoy this one! I don't own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

Kanda led Allen down dark, smelly alleyways, through parks with cherry trees blooming along the paths, and along crowded, busy thoroughfares before they finally reached their destination.

Allen was panting by the time they stopped in front of a small building that was set back a ways from the street.

"What's this?" He gasped in between breaths.

"The local branch of the Black Order," Kanda responded, starting up the walk toward the door. "The finder here will tell us where to go."

Allen groaned at the prospect of walking anymore, but followed Kanda up to the door.

Kanda knocked sharply on the hard wood, and they waited.

And waited.

And waited some more, until Kanda got impatient with knocking and started yelling.

"Hello the house!" He shouted, startling Allen. "We were led to believe that some finders employed by the Black Order lived here, and that they could help us in our mission. Frankly, I don't care if we were mistaken or not; if someone doesn't open this door by the count of ten, I'll break it down!" Allen gaped at him, and he started counting.

"One," he called in that same ear-splitting voice.

"Two!"

"Three!" This was accompanied by a narrowing of his eyes. His hand tightened around Mugen's hilt.

"I'm not kidding!" he yelled when he reached four. "Hurry it up!"

"Five!" At this point, some of the neighbors had come out to see what was up. Kanda ignored them, glaring at two of the more curious children who had come so far as the side of the house and were peering around. They scuttled backward in fear as the full force of Kanda's glare was brought to bear upon them.

"Six, and I'm getting angry!" Allen tried desperately to shush him, but Kanda brushed him off irritably.

"Seven!"

"Eight!" He stopped to listen before moving on, hoping to hear some footsteps from inside. Suddenly there was a loud crash from inside the house, and a slow, gurgling shriek that faded off into a series of bubbling noises.

"Nine and ten!" Kanda yelled as the door gave way under his foot. He hurried into the house, with Allen close behind him.

He stopped when he reached what appeared to be the kitchen, and suddenly felt a faint desire to wretch, which was saying something for him. A quick glance at Allen's pale, sickened face told him that he was not alone.

Three people, or rather the remains of three people, were sprawled where they had fallen. Each was a picture of a grotesque and painful death.

One of the corpses was still sitting at the breakfast table, a shattered coffee mug still clutched in its hand. However, the skin on his face had been peeled away, leaving a gruesome visage of death. His mouth was stretched into a maniacal grin, and the tendons and muscles were exposed around the whole of the face. The eyeballs had been punctured, and had caved in upon themselves, sunken deep into the sockets.

The second corpse, sprawled lifeless on the floor, was a bloody lump of flesh and pulp. Gray matter oozed from a crack in is skull, and blood pooled under numerous cuts. The belly had been sliced open, and intestines were tangled in a heap, with the corpse curled around them protectively.

The third body had been the object that had caused the crashing sound they had heard earlier. There had been a decorative interior window between the kitchen area and the dining room. It had hung above the counter top with two feet of clearance between the two surfaces to allow food and whatnot to pass beneath them. The window itself was bordered with a stained glass floral pattern, and had intricate etchings twining about each other through the clear center.

The third person had been thrown with enough force to crash through the window and hit the wall on the other side of the kitchen. The frictional heat generated by the impact of the body with the wall had been so great that the flesh had melted, effectively fusing the body to the wall. The finder's eyes were open, and his face was fixed forever in an expression of terror.

Behind Kanda, Allen gagged violently and sobbed.

-----

The next day they had finally gotten the house cleaned up. The three finders had been buried, the shattered window taken out and disposed of, and the stains on the floor had been scrubbed off. The project had taken the remainder of the previous day and all the night, but it was finally done and Allen and Kanda sat at the table, staring pensively at the floor.

"Well, we know that there are Akuma here. We just don't know where. It shouldn't be too hard to find them, though, because most Akuma won't let an Exorcist stay in the same city as them unmolested." Kanda said after a few hours of silent contemplation. Allen just nodded slowly in agreement.

"So you think we should just stay here and wait to be attacked?" He asked in an emotionless voice. Kanda was slightly startled by the effect this had had on the kid.

"Unless you have a better idea, Beansprout," he said.

"I think we should find them, and teach them a lesson," Allen said, raising his head and looking at Kanda for the first time since they had arrived. His eyes were red and puffy, but they held a fire that sparked and flamed even as Kanda watched.

_He wants revenge for this, _he thought in awe. Sometimes Allen really confused him. He seemed so weak, yet…

"Alright. Where shall we look, then?" He asked. If Allen was going to propose this idea, he had better think it through all the way. Allen looked at him defiantly.

"I don't know, but my eye will find them, wherever they are," he snarled. Kanda looked at him appraisingly for a moment.

"Let's get started then," he said, standing and moving toward the door.


	3. A Midnight Attack

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. This chapter is really short, but I was running out of inspiration for it. To be terribly honest, this chapter's pretty darn boring, too. I'll get to the good stuff soon though, I promise. I'll try to update soon now that I'm done with this part of it, but I can't guarantee anything. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and reviews are appreciated. I don't own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

Kanda and Allen patrolled the town diligently until night fell. Allen would have continued through the dark hours, but Kanda stopped him.

"We're not going to find anything now, Beansprout." He said, stopping.

"But…we might! We have to keep looking! What if the Akuma attack during the night, and we didn't stop it?"

"And when you fall unconscious in the middle of a fight the next day from lack of sleep, how do you expect to do anyone any good?" Kanda asked acidly before turning and stalking off.

Allen sighed, looking around regretfully. Then he turned and followed Kanda back to the Finder's house.

-----

The attack occurred sometime after midnight. Both Allen and Kanda were caught completely by surprise. They were awoken by a loud crash coming from the main room of the house, and rushed out of their respective bedrooms to investigate.

"I thought your eye could detect Akuma, Beansprout." Kanda said as his blade passed through one of the attackers. Allen chose to ignore the comment, concentrating instead on destroying the Akuma with his claw. Soon all of the Akuma were dead.

"Stupid." Kanda said as he stood up from killing the last Akuma. "They should have known they'd be no match for us."

"Eehehee!" Came a cackle behind them. They spun to face the voice. A level 2 Akuma, with dragonfly wings, hovered in the air beyond the gap in the ceiling. "Of course we knew you'd kill them all! This was just a test of how you work together!" It laughed evilly. "We'll meet again, Exorcists!" With that, it flew away, its wings buzzing in the night.

The two Exorcists looked at each other.

"I guess we need to find the Innocence soon." Allen said. Kanda shrugged.

"Whatever. I'm going back to sleep." He turned and went back into his room.

After staring at his closed door for a moment, Allen did the same. Once he lay down, he was asleep almost immediately.

Kanda, however, didn't even attempt to sleep. He sat cross-legged on his bed, Mugen across his knees, and pondered the meaning of the Akuma's words. It was not unheard of for the Akuma to try to test the Exorcists to see their strength, but to see how well they worked together? It must mean the Earl was forming another plan to take the Exorcists out of action for good. Either that or the Akuma had been bluffing, upset at the death of its underlings and trying to scare them. That, however, seemed unlikely. But he wouldn't put it past the Akuma to try something like that. He continued to consider the Earl's possible plans until the sun rose.

* * *

Again, sorry it's so short. I will do my best to update again soon though. 


	4. Home Sweet Home

You see, I said I would update soon! xD Anyway, here's the next chapter (but I bet you knew that). Hope it makes up for the last one a bit. I don't own DGM.

* * *

Back at Headquarters, Kanda and Allen stood before Komui's desk once more. He bounced the green-glowing Innocence up and down in his hand as he heard the account of their mission.

"Well, seems like you two went through quite a bit on a simple recovery mission." Komui finally said when they were done. "We will look into this case of the Earl's possible scheming, but I'm afraid we won't learn much. In the meantime, why don't you two just take it easy around here for a while?" They nodded in acknowledgement, and walked out.

As soon as they had left Komui's study, Allen hurried off. _Probably going to cafeteria,_ Kanda surmised. _Damn kid and his appetite. _He went in the opposite direction that Allen had gone, meaning to go to his room and hope not to remember. This was always the problem with getting home from missions.

He hadn't gone far, however, when Lavi and Lenalee appeared in the hallway before him. Lenalee was carrying a tray of coffee mugs, with her brother's trademark cup settled in the middle. Lavi was carrying a stack of books, and laughing loudly at something he had just said.

Kanda glared at the fiery-haired apprentice bookman, and made to turn into a side corridor to avoid the two. He was too late, however. Lavi spotted him before he could get out of sight.

"Yu!" Kanda heard the cry echoing down the hallway. He sighed, and continued walking. He heard Lavi put down his stack of books and follow him. "Hey, Yu, back from a mission? How was it? Did you recover the Innocence?" He jogged along beside Kanda, who ignored him. "Oh, I know, you met a hot girl, didn't you? And you don't want to share her, so you're not talking."

"Shut up." Kanda said in annoyance.

"Oh, she must have been really good-looking, eh?" Lave continued to taunt Kanda as they walked farther down the hall. "C'mon Yu, just tell me about her. I promise I won't steal her from you."

"You're promises probably don't have any merit, and I told you not to call me by my first name."

"Oh, that was harsh, Yu. Why would I go back on my promises? Don't I look trustworthy?" Lavi smiled broadly as he said this, affecting an innocent expression.

"You're going to look like you've been mauled if you don't shut up." Kanda said without batting an eye.

"Now now, there's no need to get violent." Lavi said, sulking. Then he grinned again. "Oh well, if you won't tell me I'll just have to go find this girl and show her how much better I would be for her."

Kanda turned and had Mugen pointed at Lavi's throat in an instant.

"Lenalee, wait for me!" Lavi yelled as he sprinted back down the hallway.

Kanda sighed as he reached his door. Peace and quiet wouldn't even comfort him now. He turned away and headed to the training area to clear his head.

-----

Allen was sitting at a table with his mountain of food piled before him. Today the quantity of food was greater than normal to celebrate his homecoming. Not to mention the fact that Kanda barely allowed time to stop and eat on the mission. But enough of that; the mission was over and he could eat whatever he wanted now.

He was picking up his fork to stuff his face when he saw Lenalee and Lavi enter the room. He stood and waved them over.

"Hello Allen!" Lenalee said cheerfully when she was at his table. The two sat down across from him.

"Hey Allen! How was the mission?" Lavi asked cheerfully.

Allen looked at his food regretfully. Maybe he should have ignored them and eaten. Now that they were here they were going to talk, and he would be expected to respond. His meal would just have to wait a few minutes.

"It was fine. We got attacked by some Akuma and the Finders who were supposed to help us were brutally killed, but we recovered the Innocence alright." He said, putting on a smile.

"Ah, good. So tell me. Did Kanda encounter a girl while there?" Lavi said, leaning across the table. Allen looked at him in confusion.

"I…don't think so." He said, baffled by Lavi's question. Lavi sighed mournfully.

"Aw well, I guess he's just grumpy in general. I thought maybe he had left a hot girl behind and that was why."

"Kanda's always grumpy when he comes back from a mission." Lenalee said. "Well, he's grumpy all the time, but more so when he gets back to the Order. Anyway, you weren't hurt, were you?" She directed this question at Allen.

"No…but the three Finders were killed in horrible ways. They were probably in a lot of pain before they died. And I don't think it was the work of an Akuma, because usually Akuma just kill tons of people so they can level up."

"Do you think…it was a Noah?" Lavi whispered.

"I don't know." Allen shrugged. "It doesn't fit with any of the Noah's behavior that we've seen so far, but I don't know."

This statement was followed by a period of silence. Allen took hold of the opportunity to swallow down his pile of food. Within two minutes he was patting his lips delicately with his napkin.

"Well, I think I'm going to go to bed now. We didn't get much sleep on the mission. I'll see you guys tomorrow?" They nodded in acknowledgment, and he strode out the door.

-----

Kanda practiced with Mugen well into the night, repeating the dance-like exercises over and over again. He willed himself to stop thinking of her, but couldn't help himself.

_It's all Lavi's fault. If he hadn't been teasing me about a girl, I would never have thought of her. _He thought to himself. His thrust and slice patterns became more savage as he thought. Finally he stopped altogether, slipping Mugen back into its sheath and striding out of the arena.

As he walked back to his quarters, he thought some more. _I almost wish I had seen here there…no, I don't. We can never have the same relationship we did before, nothing can ever be the same… _He shook his head to clear such thoughts away. Nothing could ever be the same, so there was no point in dwelling on it.

He fell asleep reminding himself of those words.

-----

_A pale skinned young woman walks along a riverbank. Her brown hair is windblown, her cheeks tearstained. She stops beneath a large tree, one with initials carved into the bark. She traces the initials with one long slender finger, then rests her head on the tree trunk and lets the tears flow from her eyes. _

"_Am I weak, for crying still?" She asks no one in particular. "I know you would say I am, but I wonder." _

_Suddenly the scene changes. _

_The crying woman is replaced with a child, whose brown hair is cut raggedly. Once again, her eyes glitter with tears._

"_You must be strong." Says a voice. It is familiar. "Don't show your enemies any sign of weakness; stop crying."_

_The girl child wipes at her eyes with a filthy hand. She attempts a smile. Her smiling figure seems frozen, before fading away._

_The river scene appears again._

"_I don't have any enemies to show weakness or strength to anymore, though." Says the woman. Her finger traces the initials one last time, and then drops. She turns and walks away. _

"_But I will be strong for you," comes a whisper as the tree fades into blackness._

In his room in the Black Order Headquarters, Kanda woke up with a start.


	5. Another Mission

The next morning Kanda rose with the sun and went down to get some breakfast. Since it was so early, he hoped that Beansprout wouldn't be there yet. 

He had no such luck. The first thing he noticed upon entering the cafeteria was a large mound of food perched precariously on one of the tables. Kanda could just barely see a snatch of white hair over the top of it. He seriously considered waiting for his breakfast until Allen left, but a low, barely audible growl from his stomach convinced him otherwise. He had trained so hard the night before he had not eaten dinner at all, and it wouldn't pay to skip another meal when one was so handy. 

He got his food and sat at his usual table in the corner. After less than ten minutes had passed (with Allen eating almost non stop the entire time—quite a feat given his usual consumption speed), Lenalee and Lavi entered the room. Kanda's eyes narrowed, but Lavi didn't notice him, probably because his eye patch was facing Kanda rather than his good eye. 

The two walked over to Allen, who by that time was finally finishing up, and spoke to him quietly. Allen and Lavi left the room, while Lenalee came over to Kanda.

"Nii-san Komui wants us all in his study." She said, and strode out, not bothering to see if he followed or not. He supposed he had angered her the last time when he shut the door in her face.

He took his time finishing his breakfast, then leisurely walked up to Komui's office. Even with his slow pace, he somehow managed to get there before any of the other three. 

Komui was snoring on his desk when Kanda walked in. Kanda rolled his eyes when he saw the comatose man. Waking Komui up was always such an episode. _What a pain, _he thought. He then stood slightly behind the large couch that faced the desk and waited. 

Luckily he didn't have to wait long. Lenalee was the first to walk in. She sighed as she saw Komui and went over to try to wake him up. 

"Wake up, nii-san!" She said, nudging his shoulder. He continued to snore loudly. 

She was still attempting to wake her brother when Lavi and Allen walked in. Reever followed them with a huge pile of files in his hand. 

"We need you to sign these, if you would," he was saying as he walked in. Then he noticed the four Exorcists. "Oh, hello. Are you on a mission?" 

"Yes, but my brother won't wake up." Lenalee said in exasperation. Then she saw his coffee cup. It was sitting on the corner of the desk, and still had some of his late-night coffee in it. She looked at it speculatively.

Reever was setting down the stack and was preparing to tell Komui his beloved sister was getting married when Lenalee picked up the mug and poured its contents on her brother's head. 

"AAAAIIIIEEEEEE!" Komui shrieked, sitting up with a start. He stared at his sister. "Why'd you do that?" His voice sounded mournful.

Reever was staring at him in open astonishment.

"A NEW WAY TO WAKE KOMUI UP! A MIRACLE! IT'S A MIRACLE!" He ran out of the room still shouting happily, hastening off to find the other scientists to tell them the good news.

Komui sat calmly at his desk until Reever's shouts faded.

"Well then, I guess I should tell you why you're all here." He said, ignoring the fact that he had cold coffee dripping from his hair. "There has been some unusual Akuma behavior around Tokyo. We suspect there may be a Noah involved. We also believe there is Innocence and its Accommodator there. It is our belief that the Noah and Akuma are targeting the Accommodator. I want you four to go there and protect him, retrieve the Innocence and bring both of them here."

As they turned to leave, he spoke again. "Lenalee, before you go—" She turned around. "Could you make me some more coffee?" 

-----

And so they were on their way again. Kanda sat in a separate compartment on the train than the others, as he knew they would only irritate him. He stared out the window at the changing landscape.

_Another mission to Tokyo. I was lucky last time, but will I be so lucky this time? _He thought. He remembered his strange dream. Did she really miss him still? He snorted. He hadn't seen her in almost two years; she would undoubtedly be over him by now. She should be. If she wasn't, she was as weak as she used to be. 

He was startled when a sudden tear fell from his eye onto Mugen's hilt. He touched it lightly, scattering the perfect drop that it had been. _Crying, Yu? _ He thought bitterly. _What would she think of you?_

"Hey Yu, come be social!" Said Lavi from behind him. Kanda froze. 

"Why, when you're social enough for both of us?" He asked acidly. Thankfully, his voice was tear-free.

"Aw, come on! Get to know your colleagues a little more!" Lavi said. His voice took on a sly tone. "We can draw on Allen's face when he's asleep so that he looks ridiculous; wouldn't you like to take part?"

"Not particularly." Kanda said briefly.

"Humph. You're boring, Yu." Lavi said, and then turned to leave. 

"And don't call me Yu!" Kanda yelled after him. The only person ever allowed to call him Yu was _her_…

-----

Lavi returned to the others with a melancholy expression. 

"Where were you?" Lenalee asked curiously.

"Trying to get Yu to come sit with us." Lavi sighed. "It didn't work."

"Kanda never wants to have anything to do with us, so why should this trip be any different?" Allen said. He was sitting in the seat opposite the other two, and his eyes were closed. Lavi was glad he hadn't tried to draw on him yet, since he hadn't really been asleep.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "It was worth a try, though, I guess." Allen snorted skeptically at this.

"Whatever. We're here now anyway." He responded as the train came to a stop. The three stood up and disembarked. They joined Kanda on the platform and headed off in the direction indicated in the file Komui had given them.


	6. Noah's Plot

Here's chapter 6, which will probably be the last chapter for a while. School starts again tomorrow, and I don't know how much homework I'll have. It may be that I'll not have much this week, but I think I can safely say I will be fairly occupied two weeks from now. I'll try to write every weekend and every weekday that I get the chance, but I can't garauntee anything. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews are appreciated! I don't own DGM.

* * *

As the four Exorcists walked along, guided by their map, they got a definite sense of unease from the citizens. They seemed to go out of their way to avoid the strangers, and looked away when the four came near. The few people who did dare to meet their eyes looked at them timidly, with fear openly visible in their expressions.

"Wonder why they're so afraid?" Lavi murmured as the discomfort of the citizens increased.

"There are probably Akuma here, dimwit." Kanda said in his cruelest I-kill-puppies tone. _What kind of stupid question is that, _he thought to himself. The other three young people were silent at his comment.

Soon they reached a deserted area in the city. They rounded a corner and were greeted with blackened, smoking buildings, some of which were collapsed into piles of rubble. Few people roamed between the abandoned buildings, and those that did crept along fearfully, gathering the possessions they could and then fleeing the area. The four Exorcists walked through the area solemnly.

They were just nearing a rise in the road ahead of them when Allen stopped. They looked at him as his eye whirred into his curse.

"There's Akuma ahead!" He said, running past them. They followed swiftly.

The sight that met them as they topped the rise stopped them in their tracks.

Over two dozen level one Akuma hovered above the section of the town in front of them. Buildings were on fire, and people ran screaming from the monsters overhead. The Akuma's guns boomed out their deadly sound, cutting of the screams. Before their eyes, the Exorcists watched large groups of people dissolve under the Akuma's virus. They stared in shock for a moment at the terrible carnage below.

"Well, standing around doesn't do anything." Kanda said after a few horrified moments. He drew his sword, and ran his fingers down its polished length. Then he charged into the valley below. The other three exchanged glances, and then followed, activating their own Innocence as they did so.

-----

After the fight was over, Lenalee insisted on searching the ruins for survivors. Thus, the four Exorcists were all climbing about the rubble, looking in the houses that were still standing, calling out endearments to anyone who might be lurking there. They found no one.

"Well, I guess there's no one here still." Lavi said once they had regrouped.

"But…they can't all be dead!" Allen protested.

"They're not," Lenalee said in a hushed voice. "Look!" She pointed toward a half collapsed building. As they watched, a figure emerged from it, shrouded by smoke. The figure stumbled about, weeping. It tripped over a large rock in its path, and fell. They could hear its moans from where they stood.

"Oh dear…" Lenalee said, rushing toward the figure to help. When she reached it, she drew back with a gasp. The figure stopped groaning.

"Is someone there?" It said, moving its head about, trying to pinpoint the noise.

As the others approached, they could see that the figure was a woman. She had survived the Akuma's attack, but not without injury. As her head turned toward them, they could see that her eyes had been gouged out, leaving two gaping bloody holes in her skull.

"Lord," breathed Lavi as he saw the damage. His single eye widened.

Kanda merely stared at the woman, his eyes emotionless. He said nothing.

"We need to get her some medical attention," Allen said. "She's lost a lot of blood." As if to prove his point, the woman tried to stand again, but her legs wouldn't hold her.

"It's alright, we're here to help you," Lenalee said comfortingly to the blind woman. She helped her stand, and guided her around the stone. The woman's sobs subsided a bit.

"This is like the Finders' deaths." Kanda finally spoke. "An Akuma wouldn't be capable of this."

"Do you know who did this to you?" Lenalee asked the woman, her arm around the woman's shoulder.

"The monsters, they came, the monsters…destroyed our homes, killed my children…my children…THEY KILLED MY BABIES!" The woman shrieked. She suddenly thrashed violently, pushing Lenalee away. She started running down the road.

"Wait, we're trying to help you!" Lenalee shouted, running after her.

Ahead of her, the woman fell again, moaning incoherently. When Lenalee caught up with her, she noticed a new puddle of blood, this one under the woman's mouth and dribbling down her chin. She was coughing up blood.

Lenalee knelt, and ran her hand over the woman's ribs with a practiced touch. She felt the broken ribs, and knew her guess had been right: a rib had punctured her lungs.

"It's too late for her." Kanda observed from behind Lenalee. "She'll die even if we can get her to a medic. Just ask her if it was a Noah, and we'll be on our way."

Lenalee glared at him, but did as he suggested.

"Please, who did this to you? Did you see the person?" The woman nodded. "Did they have dark skin and crosses on their forehead?" She nodded again. Lenalee looked at Kanda.

"Noah." He spat the word as if it tasted foul.

"She…she said…she said to tell you that…the warrior girl…the one that is strong…will feel…much pain…to cause pain…to you." The woman gurgled the words so that they were hard to make out. "She says, she is your only weakness." The woman stared at Kanda as she said it. As he watched in horror she went limp in Lenalee's arms and died.

"What can she have meant?" Lenalee mused, putting the woman down.

Kanda, however, turned and fled down the road, his feet taking him to the place that was forever engraved in his heart.

"Wait!" Allen yelled after him, "where are you going?" but he didn't look back.

-----

When Kanda reached her house, he was out of breath and panting. He stopped in front of her gate, realizing that he could not just barge in to make sure she was alright. He stood there, deciding what to do, when a noise from the side of the house distracted him. He crouched low behind the wall and followed it around to the source of the sound. Cautiously, he peered over the fence.

She was there, every bit as beautiful as he remembered her. He ducked behind the gate ahead, his heart hammering. He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down. Then he peered over the wall again.

She was practicing with her staff, just as he had taught her. The sound he had heard was her staff hitting the practice dummy. The hard wood left dents in the dummy with each strike. He smiled, then settled back against the wall to wait for the Akuma and Noah to arrive.


	7. In Which The Noahs Appear

Here's chapter seven, in which some information is revealed. It's also short, but whatever. Things should come to a head soon, and the meat of the story. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and reveiw! I don't own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

Kanda was still sitting against the wall when two people walked by. He quickly hid in a niche in the wall, and listened to their conversation.

"This is the place. The girl lives here. Can we kill her now?" Said a young female voice.

"No, Road, we must wait until the most opportune moment, when it will cause the Exorcists the most pain."

"Aw, Tyki, I'm bored! I want to kill someone _now_." Said the whining voice.

"You've already tortured a few people." Said the man's voice.

"Yeah, but you stopped me, so it wasn't fun."

"You weren't satisfied with gouging out the lady's eyes?" The man said in amusement.

"That's not fair, Tyki. I didn't have enough time to do anything fun." The girl whined. The man merely chuckled, and their voices faded away down the road.

Kanda slowly crept out of his hiding place. The two hadn't _looked _like Noahs, but he knew that there were two Noahs named Road Camelot and Tyki Mikk.

Suddenly he realized what their words meant. They were going to kill her, sometime soon. If only they had said when "the most opportune moment" would be…he knew the way to find out. He got up and walked casually in the direction the two had gone. As he got farther away from the house, he began to pick up speed. They couldn't be gone; he had to know their plan! He turned a corner and ran right into someone. He was knocked onto his back, and the person was pushed into the wall.

"Kanda!" She said. He looked up. It was Lenalee.

"Hey, where did you go, Yu? We were looking all over for you." Lavi said, reaching down to help him up. Kanda ignored the offered hand and pushed himself off the ground.

"I found the girl the Noahs are planning to kill. We have to protect her." He said gruffly. They stared at him.

"That's really out of character for you, Yu." Lavi said after a stunned silence.

"I told you not to call me that! Only one person has ever been allowed to call me 'Yu'!" Kanda flared, shouting. Then he stopped suddenly, and turned, stalking away down the road. He hardly ever lost his temper in that manner. He couldn't believe he had acted that way. Now they'd know something was amiss; they weren't stupid. He'd need an explanation for his actions, something that would satisfy them…

-----

Road lounged in her chair, her feet up on the table and her back pressed deep into the cushiony velvet. She was doing homework while the Millennium Earl and Tyki Mikk discussed their plan for killing the woman. Suddenly she slammed her book down on the table.

"I don't want to do this anymore!" She said at their surprised looks. "I don't need to go to school! Tyki didn't, and he doesn't have any trouble doing things."

"Yes, but you should have more opportunities than Tyki Mikk does." The Earl replied, smiling at her outburst.

"But why do I need _opportunities_?" She asked him. "I am helping you destroy the world, after all. All this stuff is useless to me." She gestured to the text books sitting in front of her. The Earl chuckled.

"Just humor me, my dear. Now, why don't you go play with Lero? That always cheers you up, right?" As Road squealed with glee and ran off with the umbrella, the Earl exchanged looks with Tyki. He waited to speak until Lero's cries of "Relo Relo!" had faded down the hallway.

"Well, Lord Tyki Mikk. Do you understand why this is so important now?" The Earl asked him.

"Yes, but are you sure she is who you say she is?" He asked the Earl, still dubious.

"Oh yes. She is definitely the one that was to be wed to Yu Kanda…" The Earl said, trailing off with an evil laugh.

-----

Back in the small house surrounded by a stone wall, a brown haired girl awoke with a sense of undefined dread. She couldn't place what had made her so afraid, or why she had suddenly woken in the middle of the night when she was usually such a deep sleeper. After sitting in her bed for a moment, she got up and retrieved her staff from beside the door. She returned to her bed, and fell asleep with the staff clutched loosely in one hand.


	8. The Fight Begins

Here's chappie 8. Sorry it took so long! The plot is speeding up quite a bit though (we'll probably reach the end soon. T.T)) so I hope you enjoy! Reviews are welcome! I don't own DGM.

* * *

The four Exorcists returned to the inn at which they were staying without any leads on the whereabouts of the Innocence.

"Well, maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow," Lavi said as they retired to their separate rooms.

"Yes, maybe." Allen replied. "Where do you think we should look next?"

"Maybe Kanda can give us some hints?" Lenalee said, looking at the grouchy Exorcist.

"Yeah, Yu, you never did tell us how you found out about the Noahs' plot," Lavi said. Kanda glared at him.

"Don't call me Yu, and I was just doing my job. If the three of you had been doing yours, you would know where the Innocence is by now!" He entered his room and slammed the door behind him.

"I wonder why he's been so worked up lately." Lenalee mused.

"Remember his outburst over the girl the Noahs are trying to kill?" Allen asked them. "Maybe she has some special connection to him." Lenalee nodded at his words, speculating on the possibility.

"Why would the Noahs target her though? Do you think she's in possession of an Innocence?" She asked. Allen shrugged and Lavi looked between his two friends consideringly. There was a moment of silence.

"Well, we'll investigate more tomorrow" Lavi said finally. He opened the door to the room he shared with Allen (Kanda, being the grouch he was, had refused to share a room with "carrot head" or "beansprout").

"Yes, I guess so…" Lenalee said, reluctant to abandon her theory. She turned and opened the door to her room. "Good night, guys." She said over her shoulder.

"'Night!" They said, and entered their own room.

From the darkness of his room, Kanda heard the sounds of their doors clicking shut. Only after there had been silence for a long while did he buried his face in his hands to think.

-----

"Tyki, when can we kill the girl?" Road Camelot whined. The older Noah chuckled.

"Soon, Road, very soon." He replied.

"But how soon is soon?"

"Tomorrow."

-----

The next day dawned warm and sunny, with a clear sky and a faint breeze blowing through the streets.

Kanda stirred in his bed, waking to the sun shining on his face. He blinked, and sat up. For a moment, he didn't remember where he was. He hadn't slept that peacefully in a long time.

He swept his feet over the edge of the bed, and stood, stretching. He had an odd feeling about today. He actually felt happy, a feeling he hadn't had since joining the Black Order.

As he got dressed, he heard a large clunk from the room next door, followed by a muffled yell. He stepped into the hall to investigate.

The door to Lavi and Allen's room was open, and Lenalee was standing in the doorway.

"What is going on here?" She asked imperiously. Lavi looked at her innocently.

"He threw me off the bed!" Allen said, holding a hand to his head.

"Well you wouldn't wake up!" Lavi said defensively.

"That didn't mean you have to push me onto the floor!" Allen whined, standing.

"That didn't mean you had to hit me with a pillow afterwards!"

"Well you started it!"

"No I didn't, I was just trying to wake you up!"

Lenalee gave an exasperated sigh, and suddenly ducked. A flying pillow caught Kanda in the face, smothering him briefly. It fell to the floor, and the red-headed culprit quickly pointed a finger at Allen.

"It was him!" He said, trying to hide behind the bed. Kanda merely stared him down.

"C'mon, you goofballs, let's go eat breakfast and decide what we're going to do about recent events." Lenalee said, trying to contain her laughter.

"Breakfast?" Allen said, his eyes lighting up. "I like breakfast."

"Yes, we know." Lavi said sourly, entering the hall with a wary glance at Kanda. "You like anything to do with food." Allen grinned at him and bounded down the stairs. Lenalee chuckled and followed him.

"Hey, wait for me! Don't leave me alone with homicidal Yu!" Lavi cried, racing after them. Kanda sighed. So it was going to be one of those days.

-----

After eating (which really consisted of taking a few bites before Allen 'borrowed' what hadn't been eaten) the group got down to business.

"So, we still haven't found the Innocence, and we know that the Noahs are targeting this girl." Lenalee recapped. She looked at Kanda. "Why don't you tell us what you know about her and this plot?"

Kanda froze for a moment, and then realized she didn't know anything that she wasn't supposed to, and nodded. He cleared his throat.

"Alright, well, I only happened to hear of the Noahs' plan, but they were watching a girl with a staff and discussing their plot to kill her. They said they would "at the most opportune moment." I don't know when that is. I was chasing them when you found me."

"Well…" Lenalee began hesitantly, looking at the other two Exorcists. They were silent. "We were speculating last night, and we were wondering if maybe she has the Innocence, and that's why the Noahs want to kill her. She may even be the Accommodator."

Kanda frowned. "Maybe, but I doubt it." He knew her; she didn't have anything that caused strange incidents like most Innocence did, but he could hardly say that to them.

"What makes you so sure, Yu?" Lavi asked, watching Allen surreptitiously sneak the last piece of bacon off of Lavi's plate. "Do you know the target or something?"

Kanda paled slightly, but before he could be interrogated further, there was a resounding crash outside.

Allen looked outside, and his eye suddenly activated with its customary whirl. "Akuma!" He yelled, pushing his chair back and rushing outside. The other three Exorcists followed.

-----

Kanda followed Allen as he ran down a few streets, and felt a growing dread in his heart as the streets became more and more familiar.

"It can't be," he whispered to himself. "They can't have attacked now, not when we weren't ready…"

But it turned out that they could. When they rounded the corner to the street where _she_ lived, Kanda saw four Akuma circling the familiar little house, shooting at anything that moved inside.

"Niya!" He shouted, ignoring the fact that he wasn't supposed to know her. He charged past his stunned companions into the middle of the attacking Akuma, drawing and slicing with Mugen in one smooth motion. He wouldn't let her die without a fight, and if she did die, he vowed that he would not rest until every Akuma in the world was destroyed and he had tortured the Earl and Noahs until even Niya would have begged him to stop.

-----

Niya was crouched under a chunk of roof that had fallen when the Akuma had destroyed her house. She was clutching her polished wood staff in one hand, preparing to jump out and attack the monsters that had destroyed her home for the second time. She was just about to leap when she heard a vaguely familiar voice call out her name. She peered out from under her roof.

"Yu?" She shouted incredulously, standing up to get a better view of the man she hadn't seen in over two years. His angry face was the last she saw before blackness descended.

* * *

Once again, sorry it took so long. I hope to have a couple flashbacks in the next chapter to provide more info about Niya and her relationship with Kanda, but I may forget, so if I do, yell at me so that I write it ASAP. XD 


	9. A Tragic Past

Woo, new chapter 9 because the other one failed! Actually there's not much that's new about it. I wanted a new beginning, but then I couldn't get inspired so I just pasted the old chapter 9 on the end of it. But whatever! XD Anyway, sorry it took so long to update, hopefully I get re-inspired here again soon and we can have a brand new chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it and please review! I do not own D. Gray-Man.

* * *

Kanda saw Niya stand up from her hiding place, stupidly exposing herself to attacks. Her face was shocked, but there were also traces of anger: the same anger that had been there when they had first met. He smiled slightly. She was still the fighter she had always been, and even if it was unwise for her to go up against the Akuma, he still felt pride in her fighting spirit. After all, he had helped to develop it. He destroyed another Akuma on his way over to her, feeling relief that she was alright. That feeling soon turned to dread, however, as an Akuma rose up out of the wreckage behind her. The Akuma glared at the young woman, and started toward her. Fortunately for Niya, the Akuma tripped, its legs tangled in the remains of her house. To vent its rage, the monster picked up a large board from the ground and threw it at her. As Kanda watched with wide eyes, still trying to reach her, to somehow warn her, the piece of wood collided with Niya's head, and her eyes rolled up into her skull. She collapsed in a heap, the impact of her fall jarring her wooden staff from her grip.

"Niya!" He cried again. Instead of veering off toward her, as he had been intending since he charged in, he let his momentum carry him past her, and with next to no effort he smoothly decapitated the Akuma that had thrown the board. He turned around, ready to kill any more that appeared, but his fellow Exorcists had gotten to the scene by that point and had mostly taken care of the opposition. He quickly knelt down beside the fallen Niya and checked her over. She didn't seem to be injured seriously; she would just have a headache when she woke up. He picked her up as the others finished tidying up, her staff clutched in one of his hands and her body cradled in his arms.

"Is she alright?" Lenalee asked him as she came over.

"WHO is she, is the question." Lavi said from behind her.

"She'll be fine, and she's an old friend." Kanda answered shortly, walking past them. "She needs a place to rest now though."

The other three looked at each other, and shrugged. They obviously weren't going to get an explanation until Kanda was sure she was alright, so there was no point in nagging him until then. The trudged along after him, speculating privately.

--

_A young girl, barely four years old, sits in her front yard with her toys spread out around her, engrossed in a game of pretend. Her father works nearby, sanding down his latest project as a woodcrafter: a long wooden staff, good for both fighting and walking. He smiles at her, content with this happy life._

_Suddenly the peaceful silence is interrupted, and a huge Akuma descends into view of the father and daughter. _

"_Run, Niya!" Her father cries, jumping to his feet, the unfinished staff held defensively in his hands. "Go to Auntie Mer's house!" _

_The terrified little girl stands frozen for a moment, then, heeding her father's cry, flees down the road to her Aunt's house. Ever since the Akuma had taken her Exorcist mother's life, she had been afraid of the creatures. She had nightmares about them regularly, and now they were about to take away her father as well. _

"_Auntie!" She cried as she reached the tidy little house. "Auntie, Akuma are attacking Daddy!" As her aging Aunt comes running out of the house, Niya wonders what she is doing. The Akuma had taken her mother from her; would she allow them to take her father as well? _

"_Niya, stay here. Go inside." Says Aunt Mer as she runs past, an old, worn sword in one hand. Niya hesitates, then, for the first time in her life, purposely disobeys one of her family members. She quickly grabs a large stick lying on the ground just inside her Aunt's gate, and runs after her. Her shorter legs, however, are not suited to match the pace of her Aunt's, and she quickly falls behind. _

_By this time, the neighbor's are aware of the attack, and are coming out to examine the damage or help. One of Niya's neighbors, an elderly man who had always been very kind to her, was hobbling down the street as fast as he could. He sees Niya; recognizes her. _

"_Wait, Niya, you can't go up there!" He cries after her in panic as she rushes past him. He turns and pants after her. _

"_Niya, you can't—! Wait!" His voice gets more afraid as she travels further away from him. She ignores him, and a scream from up ahead spurs her on. _

_After what seems an eternity, especially compared to the few minutes it took her to get to her Aunt's house, she finally reaches her home. There is not much left of it. _

_Desperately, she runs into the yard, hopping lightly over the charred fence, looking about for some sign of her small family. She sees none. _

"_Niya, wait! Come here, child!" The neighbor has finally caught up to her. "Don't go around there, Niya, come back," he warns as she starts around the only standing corner of the house. Once again, though, she disregards his tone and keeps walking. _

_When she turns the corner, she regrets it._

_With a scream, she hurls herself forward, trying to deny the sight that meets her: her father's clothes, and the staff that he had been using to defend himself, surrounded by a sickly looking dust. Another pile nearby, with the old rusted sword and her aunt's clothes piled haphazardly around it. _

_The neighbor's frail hands interfere with her lunge for the dust, pulling her back. She fights them, but they are still strong despite their age. She falls to the ground, and watches her tears pool in the dark brown dirt beneath her. They are beautiful, in a sad sort of way. She's aware of mumbled conversation around her, but doesn't pay attention to it. Instead, she contemplates her tears in the dust. _

"_What a shame…"_

"_First her mother, now her father and aunt…"_

"_Oh, the poor child, where will she go now?"_

"_Her mother's best friend will take her, I'd imagine…"_

"_Yes, but…"_

"_What shall we do with her now?"_

"_There's nothing we can…"_

"_Well, I think…"_

"_So tragic…"_

_The voices all whirl in her head, merging into one vast sound. She is limp when they pick her up and carry her into the neighbor's house. All she sees, all she hears, is the buzzing sound of too many voices, and her tears, beading together in the dirt._

_As they lay her down on a soft bed, however, a sense of vertigo overtakes her, and she struggles. Gentle voices shush her, calming her, and a blanket is pulled up over her shoulders. _

The vertigo clears, and she awakes to light, and Kanda's worried face hovering above her own. His eyes light up slightly as she stirs, and she feels a sense of déjà vu as she slips back into the comforting darkness.

--

"Well, Kanda, you've got some explaining to do," Lenalee said as the girl drifted back into unconsciousness. He sighed, knowing she was right.

"Alright," he said hesitantly. The others stared at him, having never heard that tone of voice come from him before. He sat down in one of the hospital chairs, motioning for them to do likewise. He fixed his eyes on Niya's face before starting.

"She came to my house years ago, when she was a little more than four years old. Her mother, an Exorcist, had been killed a year or so before, and the Akuma had just recently targeted her and her father. Her father and aunt, her only remaining family, were killed in the attack. My mother had been her mother's best friend, so she came to stay with us. In a way, we adopted her, though she was never part of our close-knit family as I was."

He stopped his narrative briefly to lick his lips.

"Is that it? She was like you're sister?" Lavi, never subtle, asked in the silence.

"No, it was never like that." Kanda said, ignoring Lavi's impatience. "She was never like my sister. She just lived with us. She was, at first, a stranger, someone who kind of usurped my place in the family, a weakling who had lost everything. Then she became a friend. Then…" he hesitated, not knowing how to go on. Lenalee finished the sentence for him.

"Then you fell in love."

Kanda nodded, looking startled. Lenalee smiled gently at him.

"We females are always more aware of these things than men are," she said wisely, before motioning him to continue the story.

"Well, yes, we fell in love," Kanda continued. "We were going to be married, until it was discovered I was the Accommodator for an Innocence, and was taken away to the Black Order two years ago." He lapsed into silence. The others stared at him.

"That's…tragic," Lenalee murmured. Kanda immediately flared into anger.

"We don't need you're pity!" He said, eyes blazing. He hated revealing himself to others; he felt so vulnerable and weak afterwards. Lenalee seemed to sense that, though, and wisely said nothing. Kanda clenched his hands into fists and bowed his head.

"Well. Do you think she is an Accommodator?" Lavi asked, more to break the silence than out of any real curiosity. Kanda's head snapped up.

"She can't be!" He said incredulously.

"Why not?" Lenalee replied reasonably. "After all, Akuma don't usually go after the family of an Exorcist, especially if the Exorcist is already dead. Perhaps they know that she is an Accommodator, and that's why they attacked her."

"But—" Kanda started to protest.

"But nothing, Yu," Lavi interrupted. "Besides, if she were an Accommodator, she'd come to Headquarters with us. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Kanda stared at him, but was saved from having to answer by a small moan from Niya. He immediately looked at her, his concentration centered on her well-being.

She sat up groggily, looking thoroughly befuddled. "What happened?" She asked. The four Exorcists looked at each other, and then settled back again.

"Are you sure you want to know now?" Kanda asked her gently, one hand tenderly touching her brow. "It's a long story."

She looked up at him with foggy eyes, and nodded.

He sighed. "Well, then, where shall I start?"

Her eyes narrowed. "When you left."

He winced, and sat back down. "Alright…"

And so the tale began.


	10. Called Home

Here's chapter 10 (obviously)! It's not very exciting, and I think the next one will probably be the last one. This is really all I'd planned for this story, and my inspiration is running out. Sorry I can't think of anything else for it, but I'll try to write something really awesome after this! If my Muse comes back, anyway. XD At any rate, please read and review and I hope you enjoy it! D. Gray-Man is the property of Katsura Hoshino.

...

After Kanda told Niya the story of how he had been taken to the Black Order and become an Exorcist, she pursed her lips thoughtfully. He could tell she was unhappy.

"I wish you had been able to tell me. But I understand." She said to him, looking apologetically at the others. "That sometimes seems to me to be a frivolous rule of your Order, but after this whole thing, I can see the necessity of it. If Exorcists make it known what they are, people they hold dear to them may be targeted." She smiled at Kanda. "This whole incident is proof of that, I think."

"Actually, we think you may be in possession of an Innocence." Lenalee contradicted her. "You may even be its Accommodator." Niya stared at her in shock.

"But…wouldn't it have been discovered by now? I mean, my mother was an Exorcist, and I remember she told me that I was tested to be an Accommodator when I was born. That was when the Order thought there may have been something genetic inherent in being an Accommodator."

"You may not have been compatible at that point in time, though." Lenalee said. "We've discovered a lot about Innocence in the past few years, and we know that it takes people time to develop a compatibility with an Innocence. Besides," she smiled, "an infant wouldn't do much good as an Exorcist."

Niya continued looking at her in confusion. Then she turned her gaze to Kanda. "Could it be true, Yu?"

He spread his hands uncertainly. "Anything's possible, I suppose."

"Hey, why do you let her call you Yu, but I can't call you Yu?" Lavi interjected suddenly. Kanda glared at him.

"Because Yu is what she calls me. When you say it, you defile the memories that go with it," he responded acidly. Lavi gaped at him, and Niya chuckled.

"Well, anyway, I think we've maybe talked enough for today." Allen said, heading off another provocative remark from the red-head. "I bet Niya's pretty hungry, and even if she's not, I know _I_ am."

Lenalee and Lavi laughed, and Niya smiled at him. "I am rather hungry, now that you mention it," she said to him. "Thank you."

"I'll go get you something," Kanda said, quickly rising to his feet. He glared at his three comrades. "You three, however, can find your own."

Niya laughed fondly as he walked out the door. "Yu never changes, does he?"

"We certainly haven't noticed that he's changed since we first met him, anyway." Lenalee replied. "Until recently, at least. We always thought he was just a grump and antisocial."

"He has always been like that to a certain extent," Niya told her. "I'd imagine it got worse when he was initiated into the Order, but he's not much different then when I knew him."

Lenalee nodded, looking thoughtful. She thought she could understand why Kanda had been so grumpy upon coming to the Order. She had also hated it when she first went there, after all.

"Well, anyway, since I know at least one of you is hungry, why don't you three go get some food? Yu'll bring something for me, and then he and I'll probably just catch up and try to get to know each other again."

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay until he gets back?" Lenalee asked, concerned about leaving the young woman alone.

"I'll be fine," Niya said, smiling reassuringly. "It won't take Yu very long, and I have some things I need to think about anyway."

Lenalee nodded, and led the two boys from the room.

Niya watched them leave. She was still in shock from Yu's initial appearance, and the drugs the hospital had her on made her mind slow to grasp concepts. She looked at the familiar staff leaning against the wall. Could she really have an Innocence? It seemed hard to believe. But if she were, she could avenge her dead family and prevent the same thing happening to other families around the world…

She was still thinking about the possibilities when Kanda arrived with food for the two of them, and she broke off her thoughts to eat and chat with the man she had loved for years.

--

Later that same day Lenalee took advantage of the peace and quiet to call her brother at Headquarters. She briefly sketched in the situation for him.

"A possible Accommodator, eh?" Komui mused, sipping his coffee. "And how sure are you that she has an Innocence?"

"Well, I don't think any of the others really hold much hope that she has it, because there haven't really been any unusual circumstances surrounding her. But I think that even if the Noahs knew she was going to marry Kanda, they wouldn't kill her just to hurt him more. Besides, it would probably only make him angrier and vow to destroy them all, not incapacitate him. They did enough homework to know he was engaged; why wouldn't they know his fighting personality as well?"

She could almost hear Komui nodding thoughtfully, and knew he was nursing his coffee and thinking carefully about her words. "It's definitely got possibilities," he said. "You said she uses a staff weapon? Could the Innocence be in that?"

Lenalee shrugged. "I really don't know, Nii-san. That'd be my guess, but I have no concrete evidence to back it up."

"Alright. Why don't you and the other three come home, and I'll send down some finders to see if they can find any traces of the Innocence while they wait for Niya to be discharged from the hospital."

"She can probably come to the Order now, Nii-san. She wasn't injured seriously."

"I'd rather not take any chances. Besides, I need you all at home to give me a full briefing. And I want Kanda away from her especially. He may pose an inconvenience to the investigation if he was as close to her as you say."

"Alright, Komui Nii-san. I'll tell them." Lenalee hung up the phone and went to inform Lavi, Allen, and Kanda of their plans.

--

Kanda, unsurprisingly, was not happy about it.

"I'm not leaving her here! The finders won't know what they're doing, and what if more Akuma show up to finish her off and there are no Exorcists around because Komui called them all home?" He fumed. "No, I won't leave."

"Kanda—" Lenalee began, but he cut her off again.

"No, I've told you I'm not going, and I'm not going!"

Niya looked at the four arguing Exorcists thoughtfully.

"Yu, why don't you just go?" She suggested. "I'll be fine here, and I'll be ready to go probably about the time the Finders get here anyway. Don't worry about it."

Kanda glared at her, and then sighed. He had to give in to her requests. "Alright," he mumbled, still dissatisfied.

She smiled at him. "Thank you."

--

The Finders arrived two days after that, and the four Exorcists departed for home. Kanda glared the whole way there, and Lavi was so cowed by him that he didn't try any of his usual mischief, not even drawing on Allen's face while he slept. When they finally reached the Black Order Headquarters, Kanda immediately went to his room and didn't come out for the rest of the day.

"Guess we gave to brief Komui without him," Lavi noted. Allen shrugged.

"Not much new about that," he mumbled around a mouthful of bread he had snagged on their way past the kitchens.

"Whatever. Let's just get it over with so we can go eat. I'm starved."

Allen's eyes brightened at that, and he picked up his pace a bit. "Let's do that, shall we?"


	11. A Happy Ending

Here's the last chapter! It's short, but happy. Hope you enjoy it and review! Thank you so much to everyone that has supported this story up until now by reading and reviewing! We had good times together in the writing of it, and I hope we can all have more in the future. DGM (c) Hoshino Katsura.

...

It was a week after they had gotten back to the Order, and there was still no word of Niya. Kanda sighed disconsolately and fiddled with the food on his plate. No matter how much he pestered and threatened Komui, the man never said a word about Niya. Kanda was about ready to go to Japan himself to check on her.

He was still lost in thoughts when Lavi approached him.

"Hey, Kanda!" He said. Ever since he had learned the reason why Kanda didn't like to be called 'Yu,' he has stopped referring to him as such. It seemed Lavi did have a few tatters of respect about him, if not many.

Kanda did not look at him.

"Kanda," Lavi prompted again, slightly louder.

"Go away, carrot-head." Kanda responded.

Lavi glared at him. "Fine. Guess you don't want to hear Komui's news." He turned and stalked off.

Kanda looked after him. Komui had news, did he? It was about time. Pushing aside his untouched plate, he stood and followed after the red haired exorcist.

He reached the hallway outside Komui's office just in time to see Lavi go inside. He heard a smattering of greeting from inside and knew that Allen and Lenalee were already there. Once outside the now-closed door, he stood and listened for a moment, but heard nothing to give him any clues. He shrugged and went on in.

"Ah, there you are Kanda," Komui said as he spotted the Exorcist. "Now we can begin."

He waited until they were all settled.

"Alright, everyone. I have some good news for you. But first I have an announcement I'd like to make. Everyone, please meet our new Exorcist." Komui motioned to the back of the room.

The four turned and spotted Niya, who was smiling wryly.

"Introductions are unnecessary, I think," she said dryly in response to Komui's words. "Unless they've all forgotten me from our last meeting."

Kanda was dumbstruck. He hadn't allowed himself to hope that she would join him here, in case it didn't happen. But it had. He was stunned.

"You look surprised, Yu." He realized she was talking to him and focused his eyes on her again.

"I—" He started, but didn't know how to explain. Fortunately, he didn't need to. She understood his feelings already, and chuckled at his feeble attempts to explain himself.

She smiled at him.

"Hope this bodes for a happier ending than the last one," she remarked, still smiling.

Kanda grinned at her, an expression his face was not familiar with. "I certainly hope so," he said, and knew that he could finally be happy once again.


End file.
